The Faunamerges
by Okapi
Summary: This is set not long after Prue's death, but long enough for Paige to be close to the other sisters. Give me feedback and be gentle.
1. Chapter 1

On a peaceful starlit night in San Francisco, there wasn't much stirring on a street where a rather rustic looking house resided. This house stood out from the others in the area not only because it looked like something from another time, but also because it housed three very powerful witches. These witches weren't like others who practiced their craft either, for they were known in the magical world as the Charmed Ones. Every demon, warlock and monster who ever tried to destroy these sisters had perished, for their bonds of sisterhood proved to be unbreakable. Even death couldn't shatter the power of three, as had been proven when the oldest sister, Prue, was killed by a demon by the name of Shax. For a short time, the remaining sisters Phoebe and Piper were lost and bereft riddled with grief and guilt over the loss of who had become the most stable figure in their lives. However, their world was changed once more by the arrival of another sister by the name of Paige. This girl shared the same mother as Piper, Phoebe and Prue, but her father had been the white lighter who had a relationship with their mother, Patty, a man by the name of Sam. With her appearance into their lives, the power of three was once more maintained and the sisters were growing used to one another with the absence of Prue. However, unknown to the sisters and indeed everyone in the manor on the peaceful street in San Francisco, something very big was about to happen that would once more turn their worlds upside down. Prowling outside across the street from the house, a very large black cat was watching with hungry eyes. Licking her lips impatiently, she paced back and forth on the pavement as if waiting for someone.

"Don't you ever get tired of the pacing?" a young male voice asked the panther cheekily, "I mean, there really is only so much joy a person can find in walking back and forwards over and over again." Whipping around sharply, the panther snarled in the face of her companion, a young dog fox.

"I'm fed up of all this waiting!" she snarled impatiently, "We know Prue's out there right now, so I don't understand why we can't just track her down and release her. But instead, you and Crystal insist that we stay here while she locates where these pricks have Prue captive!" The fox, completely undeterred by his companion's impatience, merely hoped down from his post on top of a wall. As he walked over to where the panther was standing, he slowly changed from walking on four legs to a young man walking on two. He was a bespectacled young man with a very light and thin build, but tall for his age. The panther snarled at his transformation before turning her attention back to the house across the street.

"Why do you insist we always go around in our animal forms, anyway?" the man asked, "it's not as if anyone living here, let alone the Halliwells, are going to suspect us or hunt us down." The panther too changed into a young woman. She was slightly older than the young man, with a stronger build and she too wore glasses. She crossed her arms and glared at her accomplice.

"Because, they are the most powerful witches after all," she explained, "if they know what we can do, automatically they're going to think we're out to kill them. At least when we're transformed, we can watch them without arousing suspicion. Especially considering they have a white lighter and Powers That Be on their side, we're part of an ancient order they've not heard about. It's only fair we try and keep it that way." Just as she finished talking, the girl turned to see a small brown bat come flying in for a landing. Clinging to a nearby tree, the bat released its grip only to change shape into a slightly shorter girl with hazel eyes. She walked over to the others smiling happily.

"About time you got back," the older girl snapped, "did you find her?" The younger girl continued smiling brightly, loving how it was winding her companion up to no end. She walked over to the guy and kissed him soundly on the lips. Once they were satisfied that they had irritated their friend enough, the couple parted and went over to their team-mate.

"I found where the demons are keeping Prue," she said finally, "It's an area not too far from here, but I think we're going to have trouble getting in and out in one piece." Not waiting for another word, the older girl changed back into the big panther and waited fully poised. The boy turned back into a fox while the third girl changed into a beautiful golden coloured Bengal tiger. Letting out a roar, the panther set off at a gallop with the tiger racing alongside her and the fox following in hot pursuit. Across the road, Phoebe moved a curtain to one side to look out just as the animals were running along the street together.

"Eh, guys, is there anything unusual about a panther, tiger and fox running around a street together?" she shouted through to the others. Running a hand through her hair, Piper came walking into the living room with Leo walking alongside her.

"Phoebe, why would there be a panther, tiger and fox hanging around together anywhere!" she asked exasperatedly. Phoebe said nothing but pointed out the window she was looking out of. Piper walked over and cast a glance outside to see the animals that Phoebe had mentioned running together. Turning back abruptly, she walked calmly into the middle of the living room.

"Right, either there's a circus in town or some animals have escaped," she said slowly, "or there's a new gang of demons or warlocks planning to kill us all. There's only really one thing we should do before panicking." All three of them nodded and headed straight for the stairs to go to the Book of Shadows for any indication on what they were dealing with.

On the other side of town, the tiger, fox and panther arrived at what looked from the outside to be a normal supermarket closed for the night. Turning into their human forms, they all crouched down across from the closed building behind a parked car.

"This is where Prue's being kept?" the older girl asked incredulously, "no offence, Crystal, but I think your sonar was a bit off. This place is a friggin supermarket, plus it's closed for the night. This is one reason why you guys should've let me track her down, and then I could've opened a can of whoopass on them!" As her rage intensified, the girl changed from her normal human form back to a snarling panther. Crystal and the guy rolled their eyes at her.

"Lyra, this is exactly why we didn't let you track the demons back to their lair," the guy explained slowly, "at least Crystal doesn't have a thing for whatever Halliwell sister you've got us out here saving. Remind us why we're here again?" The panther lunged at her friend and pinned him to the ground. She let her retracted claws out slightly so they were pressing lightly into his polo shirt.

"We're here, Tyrk, because Prue's in danger," she snarled, "and her sisters plus that dippy white lighter aren't aware of it. As far as they're concerned, she's up in heaven with her mum and grandmother. That's why it's up to us to get her out of there." A shout from Crystal caused Lyra to lie down fully on top of Tyrk, concealing their presence behind the parked car from whatever was across the street from them. Crystal meanwhile had transformed into a jet black wolf the same size as her panther friend. Both of them looked over and watched what appeared to any normal person to be a young gentleman in a business suit walking along the street. Once he was at the front entrance of the shutter-covered supermarket, however, the young man turned and walked through the shutter. He completely disappeared into it and there was no trace of him ever being on that street in the first place. Lyra turned to look straight into Crystal's yellow eyes.

"Ok, I take back what I said before about your navigation being off," she apologised, "now we need to get in there without being noticed. Any ideas?" A small black rat came scuttling up between the cat and the dog, squeaking frantically to draw their attention. Seizing the opportunity, Lyra reached down and lifted the rat up into the air by his tail. She couldn't hide her amusement as he struggled in her jaws to get free.

"You really should know better than to come up to a cat like that!" she chuckled between clenched teeth. Tyrk continued struggling from side to side before giving up and just hanging limply in the air.

"I was going to suggest that we all go incognito like this," he explained, "then, when we need to actually fight we can go back to our normal animal forms." Putting Tyrk down carefully so that he didn't accidentally land on his head, Lyra pondered his suggestion before looking at Crystal and nodding to her. Within the space of five minutes, a black rat, a stoat and a brown rat were scuttling underneath the parked car and across the quiet and isolated street. They had no problem passing through the shuttered door in the same manner they had seen the suit-wearing gentleman do in front of them.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok, then, there's nothing in the Book of Shadows on strange animals who hang around outside houses," Phoebe said when she came down after hunting the entire book over and over again for information. Things had been somewhat tense in the Halliwell household since Prue died, with the changes in social structure this had brought in along with the arrival of Paige into their lives. Piper had found herself reluctantly brought into the role of oldest sister, the one who was like the Matriarch of the family and got to worry about her other sisters. With the arrival of Paige, Phoebe had ended up becoming the neutral middle sister and had to constantly keep the peace between both Paige and Piper. They were now starting to get their feet back underneath them, but it was still an unsettled environment for anyone to live in.

"Leo, could you check with the Elders if they know anything about this?" she asked her husband gently. Nodding, Leo leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss before teleporting out. Just as he was leaving, the front door opened and Paige came in. She sat her handbag down and hung her coat up before approaching her sisters.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, noting the worried look on Piper's face. Phoebe enveloped her older sister in a tight hug while motioning Paige to close the front door and come into the living room. They all sat down on the couch with Phoebe in the middle of them all.

"We don't know yet, but earlier tonight, I saw some animals standing outside our house," Phoebe explained, "it doesn't sound strange, but the animals were a tiger, a panther and a fox. Since when did animals like that become common around here?" She could feel Piper's body shaking in her arms, so she lessened her grip slightly to allow her sister to pull back a bit. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks soaked with tears.

"I-I can't do this," Piper's voice came in hiccupping sobs, "I-I can't be t-the strong one. I just, I-I want Prue back! I want her back so much!" Paige moved to the other side of Piper and both she and Phoebe held her tightly, letting her cry her pain out. They only relinquished their tight grip when they were sure she had stopped crying and let her sit back on the couch more. They both knew that Prue's death had shaken Piper more than anyone. It was as if her world had been ripped out from under her and turned on its axis. Killing the demon responsible for Prue's death, Shax, hadn't taken the edge off Piper's grief. She was literally lost in her own nightmare of pain.

On the other side of town, the three animals were scurrying along the floor of what they now knew to be a large cavern. Somehow, the demons that made this place theirs had concealed it behind the illusion of a large closed supermarket to the mere passer-by. Lyra suspected this place served as a genuine supermarket by day and this other place was hidden somehow during the daylight hours. Her keener sense of smell that the stoat form afforded her alerted her to something unusual on the ground. It was softer, more female smelling and struck her as the scent of a beautiful woman. Inwardly, she kicked herself for thinking of a smell as a beautiful woman. However, the enhanced scent of smell that came with being a stoat resulted in mental images like this. She darted along the floor of the cavern down one of the tunnels that branched off, with Crystal and Tyrk in hot pursuit. Soon, they reached another open cavern with the suited gentleman that they had seen outside a short time ago. He was talking to an extremely ugly demon that looked somewhere between a crocodile and a thorny devil. It walked on two legs like a human, but was undoubtedly a demon. Staying in close to the wall, the friends transformed into bats so they could crawl up and hear better than their previous forms allowed them to.

"Here's what you asked for," the man in the suit said, handing over a jar containing something. The reptilian demon took it, smiling happily with his horrible serrated teeth showing. He walked over to a large wooden container and removed the lid, pouring the contents of whatever was in the container into the wooden box. The screams of agony that echoed from the box were deafening to all three of the bats, but especially tore at the heart of Lyra. She knew that voice; there was only one person who was in that box being tortured. Scuttling down to the ground, she lay in wait for the moment to transform and strike back. She knew that to launch a full frontal attack would be foolish and would most likely see her killed.

"Ah yes, she does make quite a good pet, doesn't she?" he hissed to the human, "Not many demons can say they have one of the Charmed ones in their possession. Come, I believe I owe you something for bringing me what I wanted." When they both had left the room and could be heard getting further and further away, Lyra, Tyrk and Crystal all changed back into their human forms and marched swiftly over to the wooden box. Lyra fixed Crystal with a set look and the younger girl walked over to the entrance to this cavern and kept a watch down the corridor. Lyra walked to one end of the wooden box and Tyrk went to the other. They were purposely avoiding looking into the open box and just fixing their gazes on each other.

"Ok, on the count of three, we look inside to see how bad she is," Tyrk said slowly to Lyra. She nodded nervously, taking an audible gulp. They mouthed the countdown to each other and glanced down quickly when they reached three. Lyra immediately covered her mouth with a hand to prevent a scream or cry of complete horror from coming out. The eldest of the Halliwell sisters was indeed lying in the box, but nowhere as beautiful as Lyra could remember. She was lying naked, completely catatonic with her eyes opened and staring straight upwards. There was no trace of hair anywhere on her body, including her head. Her body was marked with horrendous marks and burns which would've killed a normal person. Indeed, the only indication that Prue was alive was the slow and faint rise of her chest as she breathed. Tyrk reached over and took one of Lyra's hands in his own gently, drawing her devastated gaze up to his own.

"Why don't you fight the way clear for us?" he suggested gently, "Crystal and I can carry Prue if you get rid of the demons." Lyra didn't need telling twice before she transformed into a panther. However, she was the same size as a Bengal tiger as she focused all of her energy and rage into giving her an advantage on both size and strength. Crystal took up the position Lyra had previously occupied at the bottom end of the box and both she and Tyrk lifted the catatonic form of Prue out of the box. They sat her on the ground and Lyra changed back to her human form.

"Here, she'll be freezing when we get outside," she said quickly before taking off her t-shirt. Knowing they had little time to argue, Crystal and Tyrk held Prue's arms up and slid the t-shirt on so she was at least wearing something on her top half. Turning back to the panther, Lyra led the way with the others following close behind. Her keen sense of smell led them back to the chamber they had first come in through and she could see the demons talking among themselves.

"You don't worry that the other charmed ones will find out where their sister really is?" the human asked. The reptilian demon laughed at this query, completely unaware of the other presences in the room.

"They believe she's dead, even the Elders are unaware of my presence here," he hissed, "Nobody can stop me or release the eldest from her permanent catatonic state. I am completely in control." Lyra let out a deep growl before running and lunging at the reptile. She knocked him to the ground before he had a chance to react. The suit-wearing demon revealed his true colours when he changed into a red and black demon. He started shooting fireballs left, right and centre at Crystal and Tyrk. They ducked and dodged while maintaining a tight grip on Prue, barely avoiding the fireballs thrown their way. Lyra was rolling around, scratching and biting into the reptilian demon she had a grip on. He hissed loudly before sinking his fore claws into Lyra's chest and dragging them down towards her groin. The screech of pain she uttered was like nothing her friends had ever heard before. Blind rage completely consumed her as she lunged down and drove her carnassial teeth deep into the jugular of the demon. She slumped to the side off his body, bleeding heavily from the wound that ran down the front of her body. She could feel her body changing and watched as her paws changed back into bald human hands. Looking up, she recognised Belthozar and dragged her body over to him. Spotting a pointed rock lying close by, Lyra grabbed it and drove it deep into Belthozar's leg. He screamed in pain and stopped shooting fireballs at the others, giving them the opportunity to flee. He bent down and grabbed Lyra by her hair, dragging her to her feet. She gritted her teeth, determined not to let her pain show too much for the demon's satisfaction.

"Silly little girl," he had changed back into Cole to speak, "coming all this way to free one of the Charmed ones. You're not even magical, you're just a faunamerge. You really should've stuck to saving people in animal form where they needed it. Now, you will pay." He drew back his free hand, magically made a knife appear in midair and was about to force it into Lyra's chest when he stopped. Letting out a gasp and releasing the girl, Balthazaar collapsed and disappeared in a pile of flames. Tyrk walked through the fire and started wrapping a white sheet tightly around his friend's wound.

"Hey, you should know Crystal always insists on bringing a bag with first aid in it," he explained, "wasn't the brightest idea you've ever had, getting yourself badly injured like this." Lyra was too weak to argue and her body had begun to tremble heavily with shock.

"W-what h-happ-e-ened t-to C-C-Cole?" she stuttered weakly. Tyrk lifted his friend onto his back and carried her outside where Crystal was waiting with Prue. The change in temperature had resulted in the bald girl beginning to lose her catatonic state so she was now shivering and her teeth were chattering. Tyrk produced a lighter from his jacket pocket after he laid Lyra on the ground.

"Let's say I managed to lighten things up for him," he quipped. The bad joke would've normally got a slap on the head from Lyra and a good-natured roll of the eyes from Crystal, but Lyra was slipping in and out of consciousness while Crystal was having an internal dilemma on how to get both girls back to the Halliwells manor.

"We need to get help for both of them, Tyrk," she said frantically, "even if it means revealing our secret. Lyra won't survive without Leo's help!" Summoning what was left of her strength, Crystal changed into a black horse. Tyrk lifted Prue and Lyra onto Crystal's back before climbing aboard himself. Once she was sure that he had a tight grip of her mane, Crystal set off at the fastest gallop she could manage.


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the Halliwell's house, all three girls were sitting in the living room having cups of tea to calm their nerves while they waited for Leo to touch base with them. They were all lost in their individual trains of thought when their front door was suddenly getting banged on quite heavily. All three of them took their various positions in the hallway in case it turned out to be a threat. Given that it was coming up to two in the morning, none of them could think of anything friendly that would be there at that hour. Paige focused her mind on the front door and shouted "Open door!" at it. As the door swung open, Piper jumped out from her position behind the window part of the door and froze everyone there with her hands. Phoebe walked tentatively over to the small group of people crouched in the door way, amazed by who was there.

"Ok, normally big bad demons hit on our door at the back of two in the morning," she pondered out loud, "so, why would there be a girl and a guy, both carrying what looks like badly injured people on their backs?" She stopped in her tracks, though, when she saw who the girl was carrying on her back. It had been only a matter of months and the person frozen had changed terribly, but Phoebe would know her sister anywhere. She bit back a sob before running over to Piper and Paige, holding onto them as her knees buckled underneath her.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked Phoebe gently while Piper went over to look at the frozen group for herself. She could barely believe her eyes either when she saw Prue's prone form. There was something wrong here, as she recalled that good witches were never affected by her power to freeze. But there was no mistaking that it was her sister being carried there, looking completely catatonic. Paige, noting how shocked Piper was looking, approached the prone form of Prue. She tried to remain somewhat detached from what she was witnessing, tried to keep a level head though a myriad of emotions were running through her head. Here was the sister she never thought she would meet and she had wanted so badly to get to know. Running her eyes over the completely bald woman, Paige noticed that although catatonic, Prue wasn't completely motionless as she had appeared to be at first glance. She was shivering and her bottom jaw was particularly going quite violently as her teeth were chattering. Paige forced herself to look over the rest of this group and noticed the other girl on someone's back. She had nothing on the upper half of her body aside for a blood-soaked white sheet. Her trousers were torn down one side leading into her groin and were also heavily soaked with blood. Summing up a deep breath, Paige walked back to where her sisters were standing and addressed them calmly.

"Ok, I think it's only fair to tell you both a couple of things," she said tentatively, "I'll say them quickly before everyone unfreezes. Prue's not frozen like everyone else; as I saw she's shivering like crazy in that God awful t-shirt she's wearing. Also, the other girl that's being carried is badly injured and I don't think she'll last much longer if we don't do something." Acting on pure instinct and not fully processing what was happening, Piper and Phoebe went over to the spectacle-wearing woman and carried her frozen body into the house where they lay her down on the sofa in the living room. Paige followed them with Prue in her arms, feeling completely numb and contemplating how odd it felt to be the youngest of the family and have the oldest in her arms, clinging to her like a frightened child. Once they were all set, Piper unfroze everyone and a loud thud signalled the boy and girl that were standing outside had fallen through the open doorway onto the floor. A mumbled groan of pain came from the wrapped girl on the couch. She went back to bleeding heavily again and the sisters were struggling to stop the bleeding. Piper closed her eyes and sent a silent plea of help up to the elders, calling Leo back to her side. Immediately, the white lighter appeared in the living room and appeared to be completely unperturbed by the chaos that was going on around him.

"Leo, please, can you heal this girl?" Piper asked icily, "then I can find out what she's done to Prue!" As her already frazzled emotions were up in the air, the brunette needed someone to take her anger and distress out on. The injured person lying on the couch was more than perfect to fulfil that role.

"She's done nothing to your sister other than attempt to hide her modesty!" Tyrk shouted irritably, "Her name's Lyra and if you're really as good a white lighter as she's told me you are, you'll save her from dying!" Leo didn't respond to either of them but instead turned to the task at hand. Holding his hands out in front of him above the sheet, he sent bright waves of healing and managed to stop the relentless bleeding. Tyrk and Piper stood glaring at each other while Crystal walked over to sit on the chair opposite the one Paige was kneeling in front of. Prue was still staring straight ahead, shivering uncontrollably and not responding to anyone or anything around her. It was indeed as if she was frozen in time, her eyes completely devoid of any kind of emotion. Lyra opened her eyes slowly, struggling to focus her gaze. Turning her head slightly, she met the eyes of Leo and understood in that instant what a truly remarkable man he was. She smiled weakly at him before looking just behind him to see Tyrk ready to lock horns with one of the other charmed sisters.

"Hey, if anyone's fighting with Piper, it's gonna be me," she growled softly. Both Crystal and Tyrk rushed over and enveloped their friend in a tight hug.

"Ok, ok, guys I need oxygen ya know!" she moaned good-naturedly. They sat on the couch once Lyra gathered her legs underneath her body and leaned back against the arm behind her. Piper had her fixed with a death stare, Phoebe had her arms firmly crossed across her chest and Paige was waiting by Prue's side. Lyra rolled her eyes, trying desperately to think of a way out of this at the very least for her closest friends.

"If you guys are planning on vanquishing anyone, then make it me," she stated solemnly, "these guys only joined me because I asked them to. I knew Prue was in terrible danger, so I wanted to go and save the wumman." Snorting at her own failure to keep the slang from her voice, Lyra waited for the Halliwells to respond in some manner. The possibility of death strangely didn't scare the passionate Scot and she waited with bated breath. Piper completely ignored what the girl said and turned to Leo.

"What did your bosses tell you about these characters?" she asked, "Did they explain how these strangers ended up with our sister who was dead until a short time ago!" She couldn't hold back the tears that came as things started to sink in. Leo wrapped his arms around the sobbing form of his wife, whispering soft words in her ear in an effort to comfort her. Phoebe approached the reclining female on the couch whose eyes held a look of absolute resolution. She knelt down in front of her and took one of Lyra's hands in between her own.

"Can you tell us what exactly happened tonight?" she asked, letting her empathy ability draw from the other female. Almost immediately, Phoebe could feel the emotions that were lying just beneath the surface of the otherwise cool and collected woman. There was great exhaustion, relief at the knowledge that Prue was safe, barely subdued grief and something else Phoebe wasn't sure she wanted to confront at that moment. Releasing her grip, the witch backed away very quickly.

"I'll have to talk it over with my friends," Lyra replied gently, "about how much they are happy for me to share with you all. There's also a hell of a lot to tell you, so I think we're better leaving it until morning. If for nothing else than to get Prue into bed, we can sleep in your basement if you want us to stay close by." Her gaze slowly trailed over to the shivering, frightened form that was perched so unsteadily on the chair close by. In an instant, for the first time that night, Prue turned her head slowly and locked gazes with someone. Her eyes had lost none of the wild terror that had made its home there, but she was looking at someone rather than through them, almost as if silently asking them to reach for her. Blushing furiously, Lyra broke the contact she was sharing with Prue and gestured for both Tyrk and Crystal to stand with her. As they all made their way to the basement, Phoebe regained her voice and called out:

"Wait! The strange animals I saw earlier, I don't guess you would know anything about those? I can wait til morning for more info on who you guys are and the like, but at least clear up the animals I saw!"

Smirking despite her exhaustion, Lyra changed into her panther form, letting the sheet that had been wrapped around her drop to the floor. Tyrk followed her move and turned into a red fox while Crystal let her Bengal tiger form make an appearance. The big cats padded slowly through the door that led to the basement, not even glancing back once. The fox on the other hand trotted over to Phoebe, rubbed his body against her legs and walked away, calling back in an amused manner:

"Does this clear it up well enough for ya?" With a flick of his thick brush, Tyrk managed to close the basement door behind him.

Still running on autopilot, Phoebe, Piper and Paige helped Prue get to her feet and they slowly walked her up the flight of stairs towards her old bedroom. In the short time after her funeral, Prue's bedroom had hardly changed. Even though she had her own flat further downtown, Paige sometimes liked to stay over at the manor. On these occasions, she usually slept in Prue's room and the youngest sister had made a conscious effort to keep everything as intact as she could. It was as if subconsciously she was clinging to every part of the sister who had gone, one quarter of the family she was becoming a very much integral part of. After so long alone, it was an overwhelming feeling to belong somewhere and Paige was damned if she was going to let any aspect of that go. When they arrived in the bedroom, Piper and Paige went over to the chest of drawers that were underneath the window while Phoebe tentatively tried to persuade Prue to remove what she was wearing. It was at this moment she was hit with a vision. _In a large cavern, the girl with dark hair took off her t-shirt very quickly, taking great pains not to look at Prue for some reason. She instead threw the item of clothing to her friends, speaking an instruction of some sort very quickly before changing back into a panther._

"I think I know who this t-shirt belongs to," she said, voicing her conclusion. Piper never looked away from the drawers but continued rummaging while Paige looked over and once more took in the sight of the only thing shielding her other sister's nudity. The t-shirt was a mixture of black and green, the colours swirling together in a very unusual way and it was very distinctive. It had a picture covering the front and Prue was so frail and thin that the t-shirt stopped just above her knees. The picture was of a black panther walking out of the darkness, ears flattened and teeth bore in a snarl.

"Well, it would explain why she was only wearing a sheet earlier," Paige remarked distractedly. With all that was going on, she began to suspect nothing would ever shock or surprise her again. Both she and Piper walked over to Prue with a set of blue silk pyjamas. It did seem odd that a woman from another country would travel so far to risk her own life to save a stranger from terrible danger and torment. When they removed the t-shirt, all of the sisters burst into tears, unable to keep their emotions in check at the sight of Prue's scarred body and complete baldness. It looked as though every inch of body hair had been burned off and the skin had healed over, ready to be marked again. Prue herself was shaking with sobs, the first real emotion that she had shown all evening.

"I-I'm really home, a-aren't I?" she whispered shakily, "this isn't a d-dream of mine i-is it?" She was enveloped in tight and loving cuddles from the rest of her sisters. Although she had never met Paige before, she could tell that they were connected somehow. Old bonds were being reinforced while new ones were building and flowing between all four women. As they tenderly dressed that which had been lost to them, it was truly as if they were giving her a new skin, one free of scars and pain. Moving towards the bed, Piper slowly drew the duvet cover back for Prue to crawl in. Once she was lying back and comfortable, the other three gently tucked the duvet around their oldest sister and all placed tender kisses on her face. On the way out, Phoebe picked up the panther t-shirt from the carpet. She mentally made a note to have a long talk with the owner of the top.

"Right, Paige, why don't you crash in with me tonight?" Phoebe suggested, "It's too late for you make your way home now." Paige nodded, barely stifling a yawn with her hand. As they made their way towards Phoebe's bedroom, Piper slowly walked into her room. Leo was already waiting for her, arms open for which she was especially grateful.

"Hey, I thought I'd tell you what I knew when we were alone," he whispered gently, "the group downstairs, until tonight anyway, were unknown to them above. Simply put, they're not magical in any way. With regards to Prue, they feel terrible that they had no detection on her suffering before now. As far as they were aware, she had passed over to the other side when she had died. I know you don't trust them, but the people in the basement are the only ones who know anything about this. Just, hear them out before you crucify them, ok?" Piper relaxed in her husband's arms, feeling the love and comfort emanate into her body from him.

"Fine, I'll give them a chance to tell their story," she replied, too tired to argue much further. Placing a tender kiss on her love's lips, she turned to bed and crawled into it. Getting changed seemed too much of an effort and she was contented when Leo joined her. Tomorrow would be an interesting day when it arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

While the Halliwells were getting ready for bed upstairs, the three friends were trying to get as comfortable as possible in the basement. Once they had gone down into the basement, both Tyrk and Crystal had changed out of their animal forms back into their true shapes. However, Lyra stayed in her panther shape. She padded slowly over to the corner furthest away from the stairs, which happened to be underneath a small window that let moonlight shine in. Since she had woke up on the couch, the young woman felt a sore tugging sensation down her front where the demon had ripped her open. Her experiences from paying attention to Leo in the past told the girl that she really shouldn't be feeling pain after being healed. However, it was late and she was feeling decidedly cranky and tired.

"Hey, Lyra, what's with the catsuit?" Tyrk asked cheekily. The panther rolled her eyes before lying her head down on top of her paws and yawning.

"Well, my t-shirt's upstairs and my trousers are badly ripped," she purred sleepily, "so if I was to go back to my normal self, then you two would see me pretty much half naked. I think you've seen enough of that for one night." Unable to keep her eyes open a moment longer, she fell into a deep sleep. Tyrk walked over to where Crystal was trying to make herself comfortable, on an old chair that had been dumped down there with them. He could see the exhaustion and pain in his friend's eyes and knew she wasn't as completely recovered as she was making herself out to be. It was times like this which made him really hate Lyra's stubborn nature, but it was also something he admired in his friend. She never gave up on anything, refused to let things slow her down for very long and always put her heart into things.

"She's not as fine as she looks, you know," he said wearily to his girlfriend after squeezing into the chair beside her. The lovers wrapped their arms around one another, silently thinking over all which had occurred that night. It was a sign of their deep bond with Lyra that they had been more than willing to go with her when she asked for their help in saving Prue Halliwell. Their kind lived by the rule not to save a human's life unless they were in dire danger of death. What the Scot wanted to do was in complete defiance and against that primal rule. Although neither of them spoke about it, the couple both secretly knew there would be consequences for Lyra's actions and it looked as though she was suffering them already.

"Yeah, but you know Lyra," Crystal mumbled sleepily, "she'd sooner admit to being hungry than being in pain. Never mind, let's just get some sleep." After sharing a small and loving kiss, the couple drifted off to sleep in the sanctuary of each others' arms.

Morning came far too soon for Lyra's liking and she discovered this when she felt something hit her hard on the face. Opening her eyes suddenly, she met Piper's glare of disgust. The witch was standing on the stairs and Lyra saw that she had been hit with some fresh clothes. She stretched out one of her forepaws and dragged a pair of loose black trousers and a peach-coloured top over along with a white bra. A glance around indicated that Tyrk and Crystal were already awake and upstairs and the panther was alone with a woman who didn't like her very much. Heart heavy and body hurting, she drew herself onto all four legs and changed back into her true form, not caring to be seen almost half naked in front of Piper. Her own bra was still on, but had been almost completely ripped in half down the front where a nasty-looking red scar etched a path from breast to groin. The trousers were torn where the claws had cut in, the skin looking raised and angry. Sighing deeply, Piper sat down on the steps and watched the other girl change into clean clothes in silence. In her mind throughout the night, Lyra had planned it all in her mind what she was going to tell the Halliwells.

"Thanks for the clothes, Piper," she said politely once she was clothed. Her previously strong and sure voice had wavered and was strained with pain and nervousness. The other girl was unprepared for such vulnerability and it inevitably touched her deeply.

"You got that saving Prue last night," Piper said more as a statement than a question, "Leo healed you, though. Why do you have such a nasty scar on your body?" Lyra turned slowly and drew her gaze level with Piper as she sat down beside her on the step.

"I broke a number of our codes last night," she explained, "I'll be punished as a result of this; the deep scar is only the beginning. It's hurting like hell as well right now, but I know it will only be the start of worse things to come. By saving Prue when she wasn't in immediate danger of her life, I've brought these things on myself." Her voice wasn't full of regret for her actions, nor was it filled with spite. If anything, it was the same resolution that had played in her eyes the previous night. Piper understood partially in that instant what this girl had done and brought upon herself. For reasons as yet unknown, she had almost lost her life and now faced terrible retribution by rescuing Prue and bringing her back to her family. Holding out her right hand, Piper felt some calm for the first time since she witnessed Prue's death wash over her when Lyra took and linked their hands together.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time," Lyra said softly before wrapping her arms tightly around the witch. She wanted so badly to at least let the other girl know that she knew the pain she had known for so long, that she wanted to help heal it. Piper, although she wasn't expecting the embrace, was thankful for the reassuring contact and hugged back as tightly. In that instant, both of them came to an understanding about the other person. As they left the basement to greet their friends and family, it was on a more equal and neutral footing than the previous night. Everyone else was in the living room eating breakfast, aside from Prue. Tyrk was sitting on the floor with Crystal sitting between his legs, reclining into his embrace. Phoebe and Paige had been sitting on the couch eating rolls in sausage while Leo was on the other chair eating at a roll in bacon. Almost immediately the smell of the cooked meat reached Lyra's sensitive nose and her more feral side wanted to make an appearance, her stomach growling to alert everyone to her hunger.

"Damn girl," Crystal exclaimed, "don't you ever think of anything but your stomach!" The brunette let out a knowing smirk before leaning down and whispering "There is one thing, but I can't say it in company". Leaving the American to blush a dangerous shade of red, Lyra walked through to the kitchen and started frying herself some sausages when suddenly; a mysterious figure appeared and smacked her hard on the back. Sprawling on all fours in agony, she turned and glanced up at the white hooded figure. The crash of her falling brought everyone in the other room into the kitchen, the charmed ones all ready for action.

"You have broken two of our most basic rules, Lyra," the figure, who was a female, boomed, "You know that there are penalties to pay." Drawing her hand back, the cloaked woman once more hit the brunette hard, across the face this time. A closer look revealed sharp claws similar to those found on a large cat when they were unsheathed. Large, bleeding scratches were left this time in the wake of the assault and Tyrk stepped between the two people.

"Stop! If you're gonna make Lyra pay, then you'll have to punish me as well!" He shouted angrily. Every muscle in his body was primed for action, even if it meant going in the face of the overall elder. The hooded female pulled her hood back enough so her face could be seen. Although her skin was unlined and she looked young and full of strength, the witches could tell she was a very good age. Her pupils were slits like a cat and as she spoke, her teeth could be seen as being shaped like those of a predator similar to a cat. Her hair was as white as her robe and tied back in a very unforgiving-looking pony tail. She raised her hand as the sisters were ready to attack, stopping them in their tracks.

"This does not concern you, witches," her voice still boomed loudly, "these three are mine. If you want to share Lyra's fate, then so be it, Tyrk." With a wave of her hand, the female disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. At first glance, nothing appeared to be the matter in the kitchen. Lifting her head, Lyra looked around and relaxed visibly when she saw everyone appeared to be fine. Her face still stung considerably where she had been struck, but for some reason when she tried to reach up to touch it, her hands wouldn't move. Indeed, when she tried to stand up, she couldn't get higher than on all fours.

"Oh my God!" Phoebe cried, pointing at Lyra and then over at Tyrk. This struck the girl as odd until she turned and saw her friend. Where Tyrk had previously been standing there was a tri-coloured miniature smooth fox terrier. The cheeky glint in the small dog's eyes confirmed he had been the young man a short time ago.

"Can you explain what's happened here?" Piper asked Crystal as they all walked back into the living room. The new dogs followed, only pausing when Kit hissed down at them. Tyrk let out a low growl, bending down in preparation of pouncing on the cat.

"Don't even think about it!" Lyra's voice was in his ears, but he only saw a large wolf-like dog standing where he had heard the voice come from. She was a beautiful black and white mixture in colour, with a wavy coat that was full and exuded good health. On her face she bore three large wounds that were starting to clot up and her eyes were still brown with flecks of green through them.

"How can you talk to me, but nobody else can hear you?" he almost thought to her. The flick of her erect ears let him know that she got his message before she replied.

"We're both dogs, hence we can communicate with each other," she explained, "They can't hear us this way, because they're humans. At least, I don't think they can hear or understand us." The two of them padded into the living room, Tyrk going to sit beside where Crystal was sitting and Lyra went over to Paige.

"We're all members of a group called Faunamerges," Crystal explained slowly, "we're basically normal people who can change into any mammalian animal that we want. Our personalities mean that it's easier for us individually to become some forms than others. If you've ever read a story of an animal saving a human's life, then nine times out of ten it's been a faunamerge who's done it. However, there are strict rules we have to go by and these include not rescuing a person who's not in immediate danger of death plus keeping the order a secret from everyone." Absent-mindedly, the blonde reached her hand down and began stroking Tyrk on the head. It was a lot for her to take in, having the love of her life transformed into an animal permanently. Phoebe walked over and gently ran her fingers over the wounds Lyra had on her face. Then, she softly stroked her newly-formed muzzle and fur-covered face.

"Who was the person that was in our kitchen a short time ago?" she asked Crystal while trying to make sense of the dog in front of her. It looked almost like a wolf, but she could tell it wasn't a wolf that the girl had been changed into. Making a decision, she went into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of warm water and some cotton balls as well as some of the sausages Lyra had been cooking before the attack. Crystal kept talking while all of this was happening.

"That was our overall elder, our boss in a manner of speaking," she explained, "only Lyra really knows her name out of us, but she refuses to address her by it. The elder came to punish Lyra for breaking the rules, and this is her punishment I guess. I just can't believe she did the same thing to T-Tyrk." She couldn't hold back her distress at seeing her dearest friends changed for the foreseeable future and the tears came thick and fast. Tyrk turned and frantically started licking the tears away as best he could. This only served to distress the girl even further and she cried harder. Phoebe meanwhile continued gently cleaning up Lyra's wounds and once she was done, she gave the dog some sausages. Gulping them down happily, she stood up and looked directly at Tyrk, drawing his eyes to her own.

"You look after Crystal; I'm going to check on Prue," she said silently, "I'm sorry for this, my friend." She then slowly padded her way out of the living room and up the flight of stairs. Tyrk turned and looked deep into the eyes of his love.

"I wish I could tell you how much I love you," he said silently, "don't be too sad at what's happened. At least Lyra's not going through this alone." Almost as soon as he finished thinking this, Tyrk saw that Crystal stopped crying and was perking up a good bit. The other people in the living room were just trying to take in all that had happened in that morning. Piper walked from the living room with Leo, Phoebe and Paige in tow.

"Guys, I think our little gang of rescuers are in trouble here," Phoebe said once they were sure that Crystal couldn't hear, "I mean, being cursed into an animal form must really be a rough thing to go through." Piper was pacing slightly, trying to make some sense of it all.

"Well, technically they're not really innocents since they knew about us," she replied, "but at the same time, they obviously need our help. I think it's the least we can do considering they brought Prue back to us." Paige was silent throughout this discussion while she was pondering something in her mind. It was something that had been annoying her since the previous night.

"How come you guys saw Prue die," she voiced up once Piper had finished talking, "and then she ended up in the clutches of some demon? Nobody's actually cleared this up, yet." At that moment, there was a small jingle sound and Leo looked apologetically at his wife.

"Sorry, I'll try and find out what I can from them though," he whispered gently. Then, he teleported upwards and the girls made their way back into the living room.


End file.
